SIMPLY BEING
a reflective practice guide for helping professionals

From the introduction:
"Helping others is all about “being in relationship”, and therefore about developing personhood — full human beingness. Yes, it’s
great that we have training, experience, and skills. But unless we can show up
fully in our relationships and be authentically ourselves, our presence offers
less than its full potential and we end up feeling generally less fulfilled.

This book provides a self-study reflective practice guide for:

how simply being can enhance whatever we do, both in our work and in our personal relationships

how simply being reduces stress and invites a calm serenity that makes any action in the moment more likely to be relevant and useful

how simply being creates space for another to feel our presence in a way that is reassuring, comforting, nourishing

how simply being opens the door for insight, wisdom, and connection

how to help others, if that is our role, come back to simply being in a way that makes their own lives richer, more peaceful, more creative, and more joyfully inspired

This is also a guide to reflective practice for personal balance and for doing whatever work you are doing more joyfully, creatively, and effectively. Relating to others in this way feels more effortless and enjoyable, energy-sustaining rather than draining.

From this guidebook you will learn ways to practice reflecting on who
and how you are being — both with your clients and with the other important people in your life. You will probably discover some old habits and patterns that are limiting your full performance as a helper or as a friend. You may have some important insights — some ‘aha’ moments — that
can help to move you forward towards greater fulfillment in work and
in life.

You will also be offered practical ways to help others to reflect, to stay present, to simply be aware of the moment and of what is happening in their present experience. This way of simply being is illuminating. It is an effective way of reducing unnecessary stress, of clearing away harmful thoughts and emotions, of remembering where you are in life and what is true for you. As a reflective practice it allows insight and clarity to emerge out of confusion and helps you to listen to your inner wisdom. It helps to put everything into its proper perspective."